Rico Salmela

Rico Lucas Alexander Salmela (born 14 February 2008) is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who competes in the Moto3 World Championship for Tech3 Racing. He is a race winner of the FIM JuniorGP World Championship and Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup.

Career

Early career

Salmela was born in Nokia, Finland. Influenced by his father, Tero, who was a successful supermoto and motocross racer, he started riding motocross minibikes at the age of two and later switched to road racing at the age of five. He excelled in national and later international classes in the Netherlands and Spain, and was selected by the Estrella Galicia program to compete in the 2021 European Talent Cup season, at the age of 13. He scored top-ten finishes from the opening race of the season and went on to finish 13th overall in the standings.

After his performances in 2021, Salmela was selected to compete in the 2022 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, as he entered his second European Talent Cup season. His Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season was very competitive, clinching two podiums in total, one of them being his maiden win at MotorLand Aragón. He finished seventh in the final standings. Meanwhile, in the European Talent Cup, Salmela earned his first podium at Estoril, with a third-place finish, followed by another third in the next round at Valencia. He ended the season eighth overall.

Salmela continued in both series for 2023. In the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup he showed consistency by earning four podiums in total, with one second and three third places. He was on pole position at the Austrian and Misano rounds. His final position in the standings was fourth. In the European Talent Cup, he also placed fourth overall, after a season with two podiums and consistent top-ten finishes.

For 2024, Salmela participated in his last Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup season, while also stepping up to the FIM JuniorGP World Championship with Intact GP, on a Husqvarna. He finished his Rookies Cup season in fourth place overall, claiming four podiums, one pole position and no victories. At the same time, Salmela earned his maiden win in the JuniorGP in the second round at Estoril. He claimed several top-ten finishes through the remainder of the season but also suffered retirements, and finished 13th overall in the standings.

Salmela returned to the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 to race in the 2025 FIM JuniorGP World Championship, making the switch to a Honda NSF250R. He finished on the podium in the opening five races of the calendar.

Moto3 World Championship

Red Bull KTM Tech3 (2026)

On 22 September 2025, Tech3 announced Salmela would be joining their lineup for the 2026 Moto3 World Championship season, alongside Valentín Perrone.

Career statistics

European Talent Cup

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

FIM JuniorGP World Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

By class

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

* Season still in progress.